Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
